A Matter of Life or Death
by theKyra
Summary: Spur of the moment fic. Purple is dead, killed while the Massive was asleep. Red and Zaira are alone during a state of lockdown. . . or are they?


Red couldn't believe it. It couldn't be true, that a killer lurked in the halls of the greatest spaceship ever built. That a killer had gone unnoticed and had murdered his brother in the middle of the night(well, by Irk time. Space _had _no day- it's always night in space).

He'd been in the room nextdoor, sleeping on his grand bed with his girlfriend (she preferred future wife, but oh well), and neither of them had known anything until it was too late.

Now Purple was dead, and the entire Massive was in a state of lockdown. Red and Zaira were locked in their bedroom for their own protection (well, more Red's than hers) while multiple heavy-armed squads of Elites patrolled the corridors, searching for Pur's killer. Even the drones were locked in whatever rooms they'd been in at the time. The control room laid dark except for a lone computer screen, managed by a technician who was piloting the ship back to Irk and sending transmissions to those who'd been expecting news from the Massive.

Even Zaira, normally unfriendly and with a sharp tongue, had been cracked, if not broken, by the knowledge that a murder have occurred nextdoor. When she'd usually be snarling or (once in a blue moon) even cheery, now she'd been reduced to a worried, quiet companion that sat on the bed, hugging a pillow, searching for comfort as Red paced, feeling utterly detached from reality.

They'd both been silent for a long hour, with no news from anyone. All they knew was that Pur's killer had left no trace and disappeared. In fact, the only evidence of a murder was the blood on the floor and Pur's wounds- a slit across the neck and a hole that pierced through his heart, spine, and PAK. The ultimate wound. The only thing that a PAK couldn't heal was an injury to the PAK itself. Whoever this killer was, they had experience killing Irkens and a weapon strong enough to pierce through the combine forces of bone and metal.

It was Red who finally broke the silence in the room. "This is a dream. It can't be happening... I'll wake up any minute now..." he moaned, pausing.

Zaira, who'd never particularly liked Purple anyway, twitched her antennae weakly. "Red... you're in denial... this is real," she said quietly, gray eyes glistening.

"This is no nightmare," said a female voice that was not unlike Zaira's.

Red spun around to face the gray-eyed female. "Did you say that?" he suddenly asked.

Zaira, eyes wide, shook her head. "N-no.."

"Of course she didn't," said the mystery voice, as a short, female Irken appearand in the corner, apparently unarmed. "I did."

The two stared at her in shock. Who was this girl? How'd she get in? Where'd she come from?

"I'm sorry, let me introduce myself. My name is Rya. You might remember me, _Tallest _Red," she spat.

Something clicked in both of their minds. Red's eyes flashed and he angrily flattened his antennae against the back of his head. "How could I forget you?" he snarled, as spider legs snaked out of Zaira's PAK and she crept closer to him. "You were sentenced to death- how did you escape?"

The intruder smirked. "I do have my secrets, y'know. A good magician never reveals theirs, so why should I reveal mine?"

Zaira, now perched on the edge of the bed with spider legs fully extended, narrowed her eyes. "You killed Purple," she hissed, climbing off the beg. At her full height, Zaira was more than a foot taller than the intruder, but yet they still seemed confident.

Rya pretended to clap and grinned evilly. "Very good!" she said, as if talking to a smeet that'd just answered a question correctly. "And how long did it take for you to figure that one out?"

Red narrowed his eyes at her. "I should've suspected you right from the start. I'm surprised that you were never reencoded."

She laughed- an altogether eerie sound. "Oh, trust me, I was. But not by the Control Brains, not at all. In your books, I've always been an Elite, when now I'm encoded correctly, as a rogue merchant."

Zaira cocked an eyeridge. "Now I remember you. You're the addict that rented one of my ships and destroyed it."

"Correction- I'm the druggie who rented your ship and got shot down by pirates."

"And who never paid me back," Zaira added in a snarl.

Red stared at Rya, half furious and half in wonder. "You're a druggie?" he asked, as if this explained everything.

She narrowed her eyes and flattened her antennae angrily. Obviously, he'd struck a nerve. "Was," she growled. "I _was _a druggie, but not anymore. I dumped everything and moved on."

Red raised his eyeridges. "Good for you, because you're obviously about as defective as it's possible to be."

Rya snorted. "And does it look like I care? Now, I came for only one reason, and then I'll be going."

Zaira smirked. "You won't be going anywhere?" she sneered.

Rya cocked an eyeridge. "Oh?" As she spoke, she quickly dropped two knives down her sleeves and into her hands, and pulled another from her belt. "I don't think so."

As the green-eyed female started towards them, Zaira narrowed her eyes and enacted a forcefiled around her and Red.

Red, knowing precisely what she was doing and how much energy it required, put his arm around her, avoiding the two two spider legs, and helped to support her.

Rya paid no attention to Zaira- her eyes were only on her target. Rya stepped through the field as if she wasn't solid, as if she was a demon.

Zaira, by now beginning to let her temper take control, switched her spider leg extensions and killed the field, instead preparing to fire lasers. Red, however, had other plans and was backing up, pulling her with him.

Rya snorted, clearly amused as she advanced. "Surprised that your force field can't stop me?"

As she backed them up in a corner, Zaira grinned, and, reaching over to the door beside them, smashed her fist into the lock.

As the door flew open, revealing a very surprised squad of Elites, Rya grumbled and made a mock salute before disappearing.

Zaira sighed with relief and retracted her legs- if she hadn't been right about the squad's timing, then they'd all be dead. Or at least, Red would.

Either way, the intruder was gone... for now.

Red nodded to the Elites, who left as he closed the door and locked it. With them gone, the tall male collapsed onto the bed, and Zaira joined him.

"This is the worst day of my life," he groaned.

Zaira snorted. "You'll survive."

"No I won't."

"Just say to yourself that Pur went on an extended vacation and push away the memories of today."

He turned his head to stare at her. "You act like this is normal," he replied accusingly.

"How many Tallests in a row have been killed because of Zim?" she retorted.

"Good point."


End file.
